Side Chapter: So, It’s A Date

The day before the Festival of the Gods...

  Gwen nibbled on her sandwich as she ran through the early morning streets of Hollow Shade. It was a simple meal, a chunk of cheese jammed in between a sliced loaf of bread. Her mother insisted that she should eat more, but that would require Gwen to wait for breakfast. The family cook never served breakfast until Gwen’s father got out of bed, which was always past sunrise, far too late for Gwen.

  It was fine, really. She didn’t need much to eat if it meant she could get to work before sunrise. The trade-off was worth it.

  Gwen arrived at the front gate, pulled out her name-plate, and presented it to the on-duty guard. He glanced at the bronze name-plate, nodded, and let her through.

  Gwen dashed past him without a word and made her way to the stables at the back of the apartments. She slipped under the stable fence and tiptoed her way to the final stall in the stable.

  Unlike the others, this stall had enclosed walls and an actual door instead of a flimsy fence and latch. Gwen paused in front of the door. She brushed off any crumbs left on her trousers, patted down her frayed hair, and breathed into the palm of her to check her breath.

  It didn’t matter that Gwen had to wake up before dawn, nor that she skipped breakfast. She’d gladly pay the price. After all, she had the best job in the world.

  Gwen cleared her throat and knocked on the door, “Rhiannon, may I come in?”

  “...Uh-huh,” came a muffled voice from behind the door.

  Gwen opened the door and smiled brightly, “Good morning, Rhiannon!”

  Rhian was sprawled over her enormous bed, a silk blanket haphazardly wrapped around her four legs. Her sleek black hair covered half her face, including the freckles Gwen was so fond of. The centaur had clearly only woken up, which wasn’t unusual, in fact, quite the opposite.

  “...Mornin…” Rhian yawned.

  “Did you sleep well?” Gwen quickly busied herself with cleaning the clothes and toys strewn about the floor.

  Rhian’s master was a scary mage who hissed at strangers and bit the ones he disliked, which were many. But he was very kind to his centaur, buying her whatever she wanted. He even paid to have two stalls be completely remodeled into an ornate room for Rhian, equipped with a full-body mirror, two dressers, and the largest bed Gwen had ever seen. This place was even nicer than her father’s bedroom.

  Such large spending was not uncommon among high society. Many aristocrats spent lavish amounts of gold to dress up their beast-kin pets. But what made Rhian’s master odd was that he spent so much time at the stables. He usually sat next to her and read one book or another until the late hours of the night. He seemed to genuinely care for his centaur, not as a pet, but as a person, something rarely seen in any rider.

  Despite his standoffish attitude, Gwen begrudgingly respected him for that. As for Rhian, well, she adored the mage known as Stryg.

  Gwen was a bit envious of their close bond, but she’d never dare voice her opinion.

  “Hey, Gwen?”

  She jumped, startled from her thoughts. “Huh? Ah, yes, Rhiannon?”

  Rhian’s thin lips curled into a smile, “I need your help.”

  “Anything,” said Gwen without hesitance.

  Rhian glanced around as if someone might be listening.

  “My master entrusted me with a secret mission,” Rhian whispered.

  Gwen ran to the door, opened it a tad, and peeked out to make sure no one was eavesdropping. None of the other stablehands had yet to arrive, which made sense since all their shifts technically started in a few hours.

  Gwen closed the door, locked it, and nodded with confidence, “The coast is clear.”

  “Well done, soldier,” said Rhian seriously.

  “Thank you, ma’am. I do what I can, ma’am.”

  “Okay, so, Feli’s birthday is coming up soon.”

  “Your rider’s wife?” Gwen asked.

  She had seen the purple-haired beauty in the stables more recently. Since Stryg left on his trip, Feli would usually take Rhian on a ride every day. Gwen envied Feli for this too, but she’d never admit her thoughts in front of Rhian.

  Rhian nodded, “Yeah, that’s the one. My master already bought her a gift, some fancy book I think, but he wanted to get her something with more style too. He doesn’t know a lick about fashion, which is why he placed me in charge of getting her something nice.”

  Gwen nodded and rubbed her chin, “I see, it makes sense. You are a show-horse, bred to be in the limelight. You probably had classes in fashion and the like since you were young.”

  “Mhm, I just don’t know where to go. There are so many stores in the Trade District, I’m not sure which are the best. I was hoping you could show me around.”

  “Of course, I’d love to,” Gwen smiled. “The only question is how large is your budget?”

  “Right, um, one sec,” Rhian rummaged through one of her drawers. “Ah, here we are,” she pulled out a small leather pouch, it jingled with the clack of coins.

  “How much is that?” Gwen asked curiously.

  Rhian opened the pouch and mumbled under her breath as she counted its contents, “Um, 20 gold coins, is that enough?”

  Gwen choked, “Pardon?”

  20 gold coins were enough to buy a small house in the Bourge District!

  “It’s not enough? Damn it, I should have asked him for more,” Rhian clicked her tongue.

  “Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. It’s more than enough money,” Gwen shook her head vehemently.

  “Really?” Rhian’s grey eyes brightened.

  “Definitely. Although, with that kind of coin, we’re better off going to the high-end stores in the Villa District. I’ve never gone inside any of those places, but I hear it’s where all the rich folk go to buy their clothes and jewelry.”

  “Ooh, that sounds exciting,” Rhian stood up.

  “The visiting crowds for the festival should be gone in a few days, our best bet is going sometime after that.”

  “But Feli’s birthday is on the same day as the festival.”

  “The Festival of the Gods? That’s tomorrow! Why didn’t you tell me sooner!?”

  “Oh? Oh… I forgot, hehe,” Rhian bonked her own head playfully.

  Gwen sighed, “We won’t have much time, the streets have only been getting more crowded, it’ll only be worse tomorrow. We need to leave now if we have any chance to beat the crowds.”

  “Okay. So, it’s a date then,” Rhian nodded.

  “...Date?”

  Gwen’s face turned beet-red. Did Rhian mean date as in friends hanging out? Of course, that’s what she meant. Someone as wonderful as Rhian wouldn’t be interested in the 5th daughter of a small-time merchant. Who was Gwen kidding? But… But, what if Rhian wasn’t, what if she actually did mean a date in a romantic sense?

  Gwen felt her stomach twist into knots.

  “Yeah, it’ll be like when we went to the spa. That was a lot of fun!” Rhian smiled.

  “Right… the spa,” she sighed.

  The spa trip was one of Gwen’s best memories. She got to spend the day relaxing inside an indoor hot spring while getting to stare at Rhian’s beautiful, naked bo-

  She shook her head. Focus, Gwen.

  Now was not the time to be daydreaming. Besides, that spa trip had nothing romantic about it. Rhian played in the water the entire time and kept dancing around naked in front of the other guests.

  “Shall we get going then?” Rhian asked.

  “Uh, yeah, let me brush your coat and hair first.”

  “Kay, but only if I get to do your hair.”

  “Fine, but nothing too extravagant like last time.”

  “Deal.”

~~~

  Gwen laughed in delight. She closed her eyes and felt the breeze brush her skin. This was pure bliss, nothing was greater. If there was an afterlife, she prayed to Stjerne that it would be this.

  Rhian galloped through the streets of the Villa District, Gwen sat on the saddle and held her waist tight. All her life Gwen had dreamed of riding, she adored centaurs, and wanted to even be one. It was the whole reason she had decided to become a stablehand in the first place, that and she was the 5th child of her family. Her father would never give her any money for riding lessons.

  None of that mattered anymore, Gwen got to spend her time with the best centaur in the world.

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  Rhian slowed down, her hooves click-clacking on the cobblestone with each step.

  “Is this the place?”

  Gwen opened her eyes and was met with a scarlet-red building with pink accents.

  She jumped off the saddle, “Yeah, this is it. The Scarlet Whisper, one of the biggest boutiques in the district. They import rare goods from across the Ebon Realm. If there is an amazing gift to be found, it’s in there.”

  “Great, then what are we waiting for,” Rhian walked up to the store and pushed the crystal glass door open.

  Gwen swallowed, “Right behind you.”

  A young vampiress dressed in a scarlet maid uniform greeted them with a small bow, “Welcome to the Scarlet Whisper, is there anything, in particular, I might help you find? We just got a new shipment of beautiful stones from the mines of Frost Rim. Or perhaps you are interested in some of our dresses, we have the latest styles from Undergrowth.”

  Gwen smiled politely, “Thank you, but we’d like to just take a look around for now.”

  “Of course, please let me know if you need any assistance,” the maid nodded and walked away.

  Rhian blinked, “Huh, I thought they would give me some trouble. Usually, people don’t like beast-kin entering stores, especially ones as big as me.”

  Gwen patted her arm sympathetically, “You don’t have to worry about any of that here. Aristocrats usually like to take their beast-kin pets with them everywhere. These high-end stores have no problem with centaurs.”

  Rhian glanced around the expansive room and the dozen doors and hallways leading to other sections of the store. “So where do we go first?”

  Gwen grabbed her by the hand and led her down a hallway, “How about this way? I hear they just brought in clothes from Undergrowth's summer collection. That city might be in the middle of the woods, but those people really know how to make beautiful clothes.”

  “Hey, Gwen, I thought you said you’ve never been here. How do you know so much about this place?”

  She bit her lip, “My dad is a merchant, he does a lot of business with some of the wealthier merchants of Hollow Shade. My family and I usually go to these large dinner parties the merchants hold. I’m expected to hang out with the daughters of other merchants while I’m there. And I do, but most of those girls aren’t like me. They come from really rich backgrounds and they like to flaunt it. They only want people like me around to remind themselves how above they are from the rest of us...”

  “Those bitches,” Rhian frowned.

  Gwen giggled, “It’s not always bad. Sometimes my family is invited to an actual Lesser House’s party, they’re amazing. Now those people have money, aristocrats are far richer than any regular merchant family. Those merchants’ daughters can only hold their tongues in front of aristocrats.”

  “Oh, I went to one of those. Well, it was technically a Great House’s party.”

  Gwen did a double-take, “You’ve been to a Great House’s party!?”

  Rhian cocked her head to the side, “Yeah?”

  “W-well, what was it like? Tell me everything,” Gwen asked with wide eyes.

  “Um, it was fine, lots of performers, but I personally feel like I could have done a better job than any of them. Food was nice, so was the music. Everything was going well until we got attacked.”

  “You got attacked?!”

  “Yeah, it was ba- Ooh, what’s that?” Rhian walked over to a shiny pendant on display.

  “That’s a sapphire and I think the rest is made of silver? Maybe platinum, I’m not sure. Hey, um, what about the attack on the party?”

  “I mean not much to tell, it was pretty straightforward. I almost died, my rider almost died, everyone almost died. I jumped into the Dire River, we almost all drowned. Then I swam to a boat and ended up saving my rider. Oh, and Maeve too.”

  Gwen furrowed her brow, “Maeve…? Wait. Do you mean Maeve of House Mora?”

  Gwen gasped, “You were at House Mora’s party!? You were actually there when Mora Castle was attacked by the valley savages?!”

  “Yeah, pretty much,” Rhian glanced at another piece of jewelry on display behind a glass cabinet.

  Gwen ran her hands through her hair, “This is incredible! I mean the implications alone… Rhiannon, right now we are actually insid-”

  “Yeah, we’ll talk more about Mora stuff later. I’m gonna go look at some of the other jewelry pieces in the next room over,” Rhian said nonchalantly.

  Gwen sighed, “Got it. Birthday gift first. I'll go check on the clothes section, see if there is anything that catches my eye.”

  “See ya in a bit,” Rhian grinned.

  “See ya in a bit,” she smiled.

  Gwen turned around and wandered over to one of the many clothing rooms. After a few minutes, she found herself in the summer collection section. One particular dress caught her attention, a bright yellow knee-length dress with faint hues of orange. It stood at the center of the room in a glass casket, the main attraction to the summer fashion she supposed.

  “Gwen, is that you?”

  She turned around, her heart dropped at the sight of the three women.

  Gwen forced a smile, “Hey, Jenna, nice to see you.”

  The drow shook her head and laughed, “I can’t believe it. Gwen, you’re actually here.”

  “Isn’t this place a little out of your family’s reach?” a vampiress put a finger to her lips in thought.

  “Right! I was thinking the same thing, Kate.” Jenna nodded. She giggled, “But we all make mistakes. Where have you been recently? I haven’t seen you.”

  Gwen clenched her teeth but kept smiling, “Oh, you know, I’ve been busy.”

  “Oof, yeah, you have to work. I forgot about that. 5th child and all,” Jenna winced.

  “I’m the 8th child and I don’t have to work,” said the last girl.

  “Yeah, Mia, but your family has a trade deal with Lesser House Skeller, that’s different,” Jenna shook her head.

  “Jealous?” Mia smirked.

  “I don’t know, were you the one who talked to a son of the House Goldelm?” Jenna grinned.

  Mia rolled her eyes, “He wasn’t even from the main family and you barely talked to him for a minute.”

  “Still, he was a Goldelm,” Jenna smiled proudly.

  “Whatever, lucky bitch,” Mia rolled her eyes.

  Jenna stuck out her tongue.

  Gwen quietly tried escaping from the conversation, but Kate noticed.

  “So, what are you doing here, Gwen?” Kate asked.

  “You know, I was about to ask you the same thing,” Gwen laughed awkwardly.

  “We’re here for the summer collection, duh. The Festival is tomorrow. The Head of House Polamtal is throwing a party and our families were invited. We’re going to that party in style,” Jenna winked.

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” Kate crossed her arms.

  Gwen swallowed, “I’m actually here to help a friend buy a gift for another friend.”

  “And here I was wondering how you could afford this place,” Mia nodded.

  “Good ol’ Gwen, she may not be the prettiest, but there is none with a bigger heart, am I right,” Jenna laughed.

  Mia nodded with a smile. Gwen frowned.

  “So, where is this friend of yours?” Kate asked.

  “She’s in the jewelry section. Actually, I should probably go find her, so if you’ll excuse me,” Gwen nodded and turned to leave.

  “That’s funny, because we just came from there and we didn’t see anyone,” said Kate.

  “What?” Gwen wrinkled her brow.

  “Are we sure this isn’t an imaginary friend?” Mia whispered loudly.

  “No, she’s real. Her name is Rhiannon and she is a centaur,” Gwen gripped the edge of her hem.

  “A centaur?” Jenna snorted.

  “Your friend is a work-horse? Now it makes sense,” Mia nodded.

  Gwen glared at them, “No, uh-uh. Say what you want about me, but you don’t get to laugh at her. Rhiannon is amazing. She isn’t a work-horse, she was trained from little to be a show-horse and she’s one of the best performers out there. And she’s beautiful, talented, funny, and an outright badass. She even fought in the defense of Castle Mora.”

  “Wow, she seems almost too good to be true, if you know what I mean,” Mia chuckled.

  “Gwen, honey, no one is judging you. You don’t need to lie. It’s okay,” Jenna said with a cooing voice.

  “Not really,” Kate muttered and rolled her eyes.

  “I’m not lying,” Gwen frowned. Her bottom lip quivered.

  “Oh no, I think she’s about to cry,” Mia gasped dramatically.

  A maid burst through the door.

  “Ah, perfect. I was hoping to buy the dress on display,” Jenna smiled and pointed at the glass casket.

  The maid pushed Jenna aside without hesitation.

  “Ow! What was that for!?” Jenna scowled.

  The maid ignored her, pulled out a feather duster, and wiped away any smudge on the glass casket display.

  “Hey, I’m talking to you!” Jenna yelled.

  Two more maids walked into the room and stepped aside, one on each side of the door. All three maids bowed down to their waist and stood still.

  “...What’s going on?” Kate asked uncertainly.

  As if on cue a young vampiress walked into the room. Everyone gasped a hollow breath. The woman was dressed in an eloquent black dress with a pale red lining. She wore a hat with a wide brim and a crimson feather, yet there was no mistaking the beauty hiding underneath the hat’s shadow.

  “It can’t be,” Kate’s eyes widened.

  “The merchant princess,” Mia mumbled.

  “L-lady Mora,” Jenna stuttered.

  Maeve glanced around the room, “Yes, this room should have something promising.”

  “Great!” Rhian walked in behind her. “Hey, thanks again for showing me around.”

  “You saved my life from the Cairn, this is the least I can do,” Maeve said calmly as she perused the clothes lined throughout the shelves.

  Rhian smiled wide, “Gwen! There you are. I bumped into Maeve, it turns out she is last-minute shopping for the Festival too!”

  “I’m doing an inspection of the new merchandise,” Maeve corrected.

  Rhian nodded, “Anyways, she offered to show me around, with the both of you helping, I’m sure we’ll find a great gift!”

  “That’s great,” Gwen smiled and wiped her eyes.

  “C-centaur,” Kate pointed with a shaky finger.

  “Gwen, were you crying? What happened?” Rhian frowned.

  “Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Gwen shook her head.

  Rhian looked over at the three young women in the room. They shuffled their feet and looked away under her gaze.

  “Ah! You must be those bitches!” Rhian yelled.

  Gwen coughed.

  “Eh?” Kate’s jaw went slack.

  “Excuse me?” Mia frowned.

  “Have these three caused a problem?” Maeve asked coldly.

  “Yep. Give me a spear and I’ll make it disappear,” Rhian growled.

  “Wait, I think there’s been some kind of horrible misunderstanding,” Jenna raised her hands.

  “Dream on, you cow. No one messes with my Gwen! So what if she isn’t rich? That doesn’t give you the right to mess with her! Gwen gives it her all every day, she works harder than any of you could ever dream of! I am Rhiannon of Ebon Hollow and I’ll be damned before letting a friend of mine get attacked right in front of me!”

  Rhian stood up on her two hind legs and prepared to pummel and crush the women underneath her hooves. The three women screamed and fell back, crumbling to the floor in terror.

  Maeve cleared her throat, “Ahem, Rhian, as much as I admire your zeal, I’d prefer it if you don’t splatter blood and gore all over my establishment’s floors.”

  Rhian clicked her tongue and slammed her forelegs on the floor, cracking the wood panels in front of Jenna.

  “Make Gwen cry again and I will come find you and I won’t be alone,” Rhian seethed.

  Jenna’s face paled, a small puddle formed underneath her.

  Maeve snapped her fingers, “Get these three women out of here, they are hence banned from this establishment. Also, get someone to clean and fix these floors.”

  “Yes, my Lady,” the three maids said in unison.

  They quickly ran over, grabbed Jenna, Kate, and Mia, and dragged them away.

  “Sorry about breaking the floor,” Rhian winced.

  “It’s fine, I got used to it thanks to a particular goblin,” Maeve’s lips curled up a tad. She glanced at Gwen, “I hope this event will not discourage you from returning to the Scarlet Whisper.”

  “Not at all, my Lady,” Gwen bowed deeply.

  “Wonderful, as a token of appreciation, please have the dress on display,” Maeve said.

  “What? But… I don’t understand,” Gwen mumbled.

  “You’ve been eyeing that dress since I walked in. Any friend of Rhian is a friend of mine. Think of this as a bribe of friendship,” Maeve winked.

  “I… see,” Gwen blinked.

  “Come, you two, let me show you our perfumes,” Maeve walked away.

  Rhian nodded, “Sounds great. Hey, Gwen, after this can we get something to eat?”

  She smiled, “Definitely.”

  It didn’t matter that Gwen had to wake up before dawn, nor that she skipped breakfast. It didn’t even matter that she had to deal with cruel people. She’d gladly pay the price. After all, she had the best job in the world.